Abstract

Arguing that international development policymaking is technocratic is not new. However, examining technocracy as a political rationality sheds new light on intentionality, on the evolution of policymaking practices, and on change and stability as part of a single process. In short, the meaningful adoption of new inclusive practices (change) has stabilised World Bank employees’ mode of thought and action (stability). My overall argument is that World Bank employees translate potentially radical new knowledge, tools and concepts through a neoliberal technocratic rationality, thereby translating radical practices into technocratic ones. The concept of translation can further our understanding of how inclusion has reinforced rather than challenged the status quo. I thus consider both stability and change at the World Bank from 1980 to 2010, without downgrading either. This article also explores the spread of this political rationality to borrowing governments and populations through self-censorship and mirroring mechanisms, rendering old fashioned conditionalities obsolete. This research is based on extensive interview material and archival analysis.

摘要

认为国际发展政策制定是技术专家制并不是什么新鲜事。但是，将技术官僚主义作为一种政治理性进行研究，为意图，决策实践的演变以及作为单个过程一部分的变化与稳定性提供了新的思路。简而言之，有意义地采用新的包容性做法（变更）稳定了世界银行员工的思维和行动方式（稳定性）。我的总体论点是，世界银行的员工通过新自由主义的技术官僚理性来转化潜在的激进的新知识，新工具和新概念，从而将激进的实践转化为技术专家的做法。翻译的概念可以使我们进一步理解包容如何增强而不是挑战现状。因此，我考虑了1980年至2010年世界银行的稳定与变化，也不降级。本文还探讨了这种政治合理性通过自我审查和镜像机制向借债政府和民众的传播，使过时的条件变得过时了。这项研究基于广泛的采访材料和档案分析。